I read this book as a requirement for a correspondence course I was taking and had no choice but to read it. However, this book introduces many of the terms associated with space, space shuttles and astronauts in an interesting and fun way. I think the children would have to already know the alphabet to enjoy this book as it reads A is for astronaut, when most children learn A is for apple. It then defines each word introduced. Excellent reading and excellent book for those children who are interested in visiting the moon.

This book is part of the Word of King Series.These books present Bible stories which are to be read to four and five-year-olds while six and seven-year-olds are encouraged to read them for themselves. In a dramatic retelling of the story from Genesis the book tells of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac when God put him to the test.

This is a unique treatment of Old Testament material. The author uses cannonized scripture and other sources to piece the fragments of the story together for a broader understanding for the reader. The author uses great skill to inject bridging comments and let the original manuscripts speak for themselves. The reader is provided with the information and free to connect the dots as they feel appropriate.

This trilogy of novelletes includes early versions of stories that were later expanded, revised, or published under new titles. The book contains: 'Grow Old Along with Me' (which was later released as 'A Pebble in the Sky'), 'The End of Eternity', and 'Belief'. Mr. Asimov's usual "wit and charm" are already present in these works that were written when he was only in his late twenties and early thirtees. My favorite of the three was 'The End of Eternity'. I actually liked the novelette better than the full-blown novel which was triple the size. The story flows better as a short story. Overall, I liked this book. It makes a nice addition to the Asimov collection!

Asimov does his typically thorough job of annotating, filling this book with tons of information about obscure references and historical tidbits. However, I was a bit dismayed at Asimov's heavy-handed critique of Swift in the 3rd book. As many readers of Swift know, the 3rd book contains a very harsh criticism of science and technology. Asimov decides to use his annotations to defend science. While his aims are certainly admirable, I think that he takes Swift's comments out of context in an effort to prove his own case.

That minor cavil aside, this is an excellent book for young people studying this great classic of literature, and for fans of both Swift and Asimov.

I enjoyed this book because it shed light on a subject that has always interested me: the way in which the beauty product industry takes advantage of women's insecurities. Until I discovered authors like Ralph Nader and Paula Begoun I only read about beauty product in fashion magazines. It is fascinating to look at this subject from a consumer-advocate's perspective. This is a well-written, down to Earth book that is not afraid to tell the truth.

This close reading of the Genesis story and the mishna relating to the sacrifice of Abraham of his only son has unique reverberations in the Islamic context because of the retelling of the story by the Prophet Mohammed, preserved in a hadith. The authors translate primary documents about this the first holocaust. Traditionally the story has been explained as the substitution of human sacrifice for animal, but as any open-eyed reading suggests there are greater ambiguities in the stark trial of a father willing to kill his only son in order to obey his God. "The first chapter presents a translation of the biblical narrative, followed by a compendium of the Jewish oral traditions that developed over a period of more than fifteen centuries relating to and investigating the meaning of the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac... The following chapters show the tale's transition from its Jewish roots into other religious milieu. Chapter two attempts to scrutinize the actual process of transition, drawing in materials related thematically across three traditions and more than five centuries. Chapter three returns to focus on the Islamic versions of the Binding and its narrative themes." Recommended. The true hero of the Aqedah was the ram Unaware of the connivance of others It is as he volunteers to die in Isaac's place. I want to sing a tribute to its memory Its curly wool and its human eyes And its horns that were so quiet on its lovely head Which after its slaughter were made into trumpets To the sound of their war Or to the blast of their vulgar joy... And behind them, as a colorful background, the ram Caught in the thicket before the slaughter, And the thicket was his very last friend. The angel went home Isaac went home Abraham and God went a long time ago But the true hero of the Aqedah Is the ram. -from of a poem by Yehuda Amichai, "The True Hero of the Aqedah" cited from Caspi & Cohen: The Binding [Aqedah] and its Transformations in Judaism and Islam, The Lambs of God

I found this book to be a straightforward presentation of why ADHD is often confused with bipolar disorder in children. The author seems to have a good deal of experience working with kids who have been given these diagnoses, and given the ubiquity of the ADHD diagnosis in children these days (someone should write a book called "Ritalin Nation"), and the growing appreciation that bipolar disorder can have a childhood onset, the author has uncovered a huge problem in American medicine. This book can supplement the information present in more comprehensive books about childhood bipolar disorder, such as "The Bipolar Child". Overall, an interesting read. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

This is another book in Isaac Asimov's excellent "Library of the Universe" series that serves as a supplementary text for the introduction of astronomy for young children. This volume is filled with beautiful photographs of stars and discusses the life and ultimate fate of different types of stars. The book has been updated and revised by Francis Reddy in 1995 as "Star Cycles: The Life and Death of Stars." Asimov had passed away in 1992.

The book is a really informative resource and quite comprehensive on the general geographical locations and types of food available.

There were a few areas where it could have been better and areas where you would need supplementary material if you are really interested in finding out how to identify Australian Native Plants as food sources:

1) Needs to have pictures and descriptions identifying all species listed in Appendix 1 as food sources. Too small a percentage have associated pictures, descriptions or topographic locations where the plants are to be found.

2) Need to have defined methods of catching and killing the animals. Eg Lizards. it is not explained how to catch the damn things without being bitten. (ditto the snakes)

3) Need to include more detail on how to prepare foods which have been gathered.

All in all, a great book. Very informative and entertaining, but not enough to go bush with, unless you have the aforementioned supplimentary material.